When I was young, a walk on the street meant passing may older women and men who had great difficulty walking. They would shuffle with canes or strollers or struggle with no help at all along the sidewalk. Now I no longer see many old people struggling along.

What has happened to them? Does the new generation now sit at home, waiting for home delivery and taking an occassional walk around the room or on a very slow tredmill? Have they been moved out to retirement communities in Florida and Arizona? (I live in Manhattan).

Or, as I suspect, has hip and knee replacement surgery become so frequent that the elderly now skip instead of stumble?